French motorists no longer want to hear about Tesla, whose sales have fallen by a factor of three over the past year.
The Automotive Platform (PFA) has published its report on new vehicle registrations for May 2025 in France, and they are rather alarming. Based on figures from AAA Data, we learn that new car sales have fallen by 12.3% compared to May 2024. The electric market is even more affected, suffering a 19% drop in deliveries year-on-year.
And the big loser at the moment is Tesla. The manufacturer only managed to sell 721 vehicles in May 2025, compared to 2,197 in May 2024. This represents a dizzying drop of 67.18%. Tesla's market share in France has almost been divided by three in twelve short months, falling from 1.55% to 0.58%.
Sales divided by three in one year
We know that Tesla sales have been collapsing for several months in Europe. For the first quarter of 2025, the manufacturer hid behind the lack of availability of its new Model Y to justify its poor performance. But this excuse no longer holds for this second quarter, as the Berlin Gigafactory is now producing enough vehicles to meet French demand. Tesla hasn't sold so few vehicles in France in a month for three years.
Why this disenchantment among the French with Tesla? Several reasons seem to emerge. First, the electric market in general is struggling to find new momentum after a period of continuous growth. Then, competition is intensifying, with European manufacturers having made up some ground in their electric vehicle platforms, battery technologies, and driver assistance features.
The arrival of Chinese players like BYD is unlikely to improve the situation. It is likely that some consumers are waiting for better availability of electric vehicles from China, which should offer better value for money. Finally, there is a certain rejection of Elon Musk, the boss of Tesla, who has lost credibility with many consumers following his political commitments to Donald Trump in the United States.
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